Joint Circular No. 12/2007/TTLT-BTNMT-BNV guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Government Decree No. 81/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 23, 2007 on the organization and specialized departments for environmental protection at state agencies and state-owned enterprises.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing certain provisions of Decree No. 81/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 23, 2007 of the Government on the organization and specialized departments for environmental protection at state agencies and state-owned enterprises.

______________________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 91/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 11, 2002 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

Pursuant to Decree No. 45/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 9, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

Pursuant to point c Clause 2 Article 6 and point a Clause 1 Article 11 of Decree No. 81/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 23, 2007 of the Government on the organization and specialized departments for environmental protection at state agencies and state-owned enterprises;

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Home Affairs provide guidelines for the following contents:

I. SCOPE OF REGULATION

1. Tasks, powers, organizational structure, and staffing of the Environmental Protection Sub-Department under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and centrally governed cities.

2. Organization and operation of units operating in the field of environmental protection.

II. TASKS, POWERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND STAFFING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SUB-DEPARTMENT

1. Tasks and powers of the Environmental Protection Sub-Department

The Environmental Protection Sub-Department performs the functions prescribed in point a Clause 2 Article 6 of Decree No. 81/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 23, 2007 of the Government, with specific tasks and powers as follows:

1.1. Take the lead or participate in drafting normative legal documents, programs, plans, projects, and proposals on environmental protection according to the assignment of the Department Director; organize the implementation of normative legal documents, programs, plans, projects, and proposals related to its functions and tasks that have been issued and approved by competent authorities;

1.2. Advise the Department Director on guiding organizations and individuals to implement national technical standards and regulations on environmental protection in production, business, and service activities;

1.3. Advise the Department Director on submitting to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city the organization of reviewing strategic environmental assessments and the review and approval of environmental impact assessment reports in accordance with the law; assist the Department Director in inspecting the implementation of the contents of environmental impact assessment reports after approval and the implementation of investment projects;

1.4. Investigate and statistically analyze sources of emissions, types of waste, and emission volumes within the province or centrally governed city; submit to the Department Director applications for registration of practice and issuance of management codes for hazardous waste in accordance with the law; inspect the implementation of registered management practices; act as the coordinating body to cooperate with relevant specialized agencies and units under the Department in supervising organizations and individuals importing scrap materials for production purposes within the area;

1.5. Assist the Department Director in identifying and recommending competent authorities to handle facilities causing environmental pollution; submit to the Department Director the confirmation of serious pollution-causing facilities having completed thorough pollution treatment according to their proposals;

1.6. Evaluate, warn, and forecast environmental disaster risks within the province or centrally governed city; investigate, discover, and determine polluted areas, report, and propose measures to prevent, mitigate, and restore the environment to the Department Director;

1.7. Act as the coordinating body to cooperate or participate with relevant agencies in resolving cross-sectoral and inter-provincial environmental issues and work on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of natural resources and biodiversity according to the assignment of the Department Director;

1.8. Assist the Department Director in developing environmental monitoring programs, organizing the implementation of environmental monitoring according to the approved program or upon request from organizations and individuals; prepare environmental status reports and develop plans for environmental monitoring networks within the province or centrally governed city; monitor and inspect the technical operation of local environmental monitoring networks;

1.9. Implement scientific and technological tasks, take the lead or participate in domestic and international cooperation projects in the field of environmental protection according to the assignment of the Department Director;

1.10. Advise the Department Director on guiding environmental management procedures for District Natural Resources and Environment Departments and land administration and construction officers at communes, wards, and towns; disseminate and educate the public about environmental protection laws according to the assignment of the Department Director;

1.11. Monitor and inspect compliance with environmental protection laws within the province or centrally governed city; coordinate with the Department Inspectorate in conducting inspections, detecting violations of environmental protection laws within the area, and recommending the Department Director to handle them according to authority; participate in resolving complaints, accusations, and disputes over environmental issues according to the assignment of the Department Director;

1.12. Manage finance, assets, organizational structures, and civil servants and officials under the Sub-Department according to the decentralization of the provincial or centrally governed city People's Committee and the Department Director and the law;

1.13. Perform other tasks assigned by the Department Director.

2. Organizational Structure of the Environmental Protection Sub-Department

2.1. Leadership of the Sub-Department:

The Environmental Protection Sub-Department has a Sub-Department Director; the Sub-Department Director is assisted by one or two Deputy Sub-Department Directors. The appointment, dismissal, and removal of the Sub-Department Director and Deputy Sub-Department Directors are carried out according to the decentralization of the provincial or centrally governed city People's Committee.

2.2. Organizational Structure of the Sub-Department:

Based on the volume of work, nature, characteristics of state management regarding environmental protection at the local level, and the number of administrative staff assigned, the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city decides on the specific organizational structure of the Environmental Protection Agency as follows:

a) For the Environmental Protection Agency with a workload requiring the regular employment of 10 to 15 administrative staff, it may establish no more than two departments as follows:

- Department of General Affairs and Environmental Impact Assessment;

- Department of Pollution Control.

b) For the Environmental Protection Agency with a workload requiring the regular employment of more than 15 administrative staff, it may establish three departments as follows:

- Department of General Affairs;

- Department of Review and Environmental Impact Assessment;

- Department of Pollution Control.

c) No department shall be established under the Environmental Protection Agency with a workload requiring the regular employment of fewer than 10 administrative staff.

For Environmental Protection Agencies without subordinate departments, the Director of the Agency directly assigns and directs, and supervises the administrative staff of the Agency to perform state management tasks regarding environmental protection.

d) The Environmental Protection Agency may have the following subordinate units:

- Environmental Monitoring Center: a service unit serving state management regarding environmental protection, funded entirely or partially by the state budget for its regular operational expenses. Each Department only establishes one Environmental Monitoring Center under the Environmental Protection Agency, in accordance with the conditions for establishment stipulated in Clause 1.2, Section 1, Part III of this Circular.

In cases where an Environmental and Resource Monitoring Center has been established to carry out comprehensive monitoring tasks within the functions of the Department, this Center may be subordinate to the Department or the Environmental Protection Agency.

- Environmental Technology Application and Development Center or other service units providing environmental protection public services are self-funded service units.

đ) For the Environmental Protection Agency without an Environmental Monitoring Center (or Environmental and Resource Monitoring Center) under the Department, it may establish an Environmental Monitoring Station. The Director of the Agency may enter into labor contracts using the environmental protection service budget to fulfill monitoring and environmental analysis tasks.

The Environmental Monitoring Station is equivalent to a department-level unit under the Agency, without legal personality, seal, or account.

2.3. The tasks, powers, and specific organizational structure of the Environmental Protection Agency are decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city; the Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment specifies the functions, tasks, and organization of the departments and service units (if any) under the Agency based on the proposal of the Agency Director.

3. Staffing of the Environmental Protection Agency

3.1. Administrative staffing of the Agency includes: Director, Deputy Director, and officers and civil servants working in the specialized and professional departments (or sections) of the Agency.

3.2. Service staffing of the Agency includes officers and employees working in the subordinate service units of the Agency. In cases where there is a shortage of employees according to the staffing,

the Agency may enter into labor contracts using the environmental protection service budget.

3.3. Administrative staffing and service staffing of the Agency are determined by the Department Director for allocation within the total staffing quota of the Department assigned by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city in accordance with current regulations. For self-funded service units for regular operational expenses, the Department Director approves the staffing plan of the unit.

III. ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS OF SERVICE UNITS OPERATING IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FIELD

1. Service units serving state management regarding environmental protection

1.1. The Environmental Monitoring Center (or Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Center, Environmental Monitoring and Information Center, Environmental and Resource Monitoring Center) specified in this Circular is a service unit with legal personality, seal, and account, established by competent state agencies at the Bureau (or General Bureau) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministries, or agencies at the ministerial level related to environmental protection responsibilities, or at the Environmental Protection Agency, Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, centrally governed city to serve state management. These service units may participate in providing environmental protection public services in accordance with the law.

Environmental monitoring units of state-owned enterprises, universities, research institutes, or other public service organizations with the function of organizing the provision of environmental monitoring services are not service units serving state management regarding environmental protection as specified in this Circular.

1.2. The Environmental Monitoring Center specified in Section 1, Part III of this Circular is established and operates when meeting the following conditions:

a) The Bureau (or General Bureau) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministries, or agencies at the ministerial level related to environmental protection responsibilities, or the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, have developed a project, submitted to the competent authority for decision to establish an Environmental Monitoring Center to directly serve environmental management work of the agency;

b) There is a workplace and ensuring the conditions for conducting monitoring and environmental analysis;

c) There is a laboratory equipped to analyze basic environmental parameters; having at least three sample analysts in the laboratory, including at least one analyst with a bachelor's degree in a relevant field;

d) Having sufficient equipment, tools, and chemicals for sampling, sample preservation, rapid field measurement, and transportation suitable for standards and must meet the required accuracy for basic environmental components (air, water, and soil); having sufficient field monitoring personnel, including at least three field monitors with a bachelor's degree in a relevant field suitable for monitoring, analysis, and data synthesis tasks;

d) Possess the capacity to implement technical procedures, norms, standards, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) in environmental monitoring; have dedicated staff responsible for technical management and quality management.

1.3. Environmental monitoring centers shall operate autonomously and be responsible for their tasks, organizational structure, staffing, and finances in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Public service units providing environmental protection services

2.1. Public service units operating in various industries and sectors may participate in supplying certain public environmental protection services to organizations and individuals in accordance with their functions, tasks, conditions, professional capabilities, and legal regulations (hereinafter referred to as public service units providing environmental protection services), including:

a) Institutes and centers for scientific research and technological development, technology transfer consultancy;

b) Specialized centers for scientific and technological information and resource and environmental data;

c) Units (stations, centers) for meteorological and hydrological observation and forecasting;

d) Environmental monitoring and analysis centers;

d) Key laboratories under public service units;

e) Geological associations;

g) Management boards of natural conservation areas and national parks;

h) Centers for conservation and development of genetic resources and rare animal and plant species;

i) Urban and rural clean water and environmental sanitation centers;

k) Other public service units established by the state that have the function of providing public environmental protection services.

2.2. The specific functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structures of public service units providing environmental protection services as stipulated in Section 2 of Part III of this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant specialized legal regulations and decisions of competent authorities.

2.3. Public service units providing environmental protection services shall operate autonomously and be responsible according to the provisions of the law; they shall be prioritized by the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund and the environment protection funds of ministries, sectors, and localities for credit and funding to carry out public environmental protection services.

2.4. Encourage public service units providing environmental protection services to provide technical assistance and free information to organizations, individuals, and community residents to facilitate social review and oversight of programs, projects, and plans involving environmental factors that need to be protected and developed sustainably.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities shall be responsible for directing the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with the Department of Home Affairs to develop a proposal for establishing an Environmental Protection Agency based on restructuring the Environmental Protection Office (or specialized department for environmental protection) and existing public service units serving state management or providing public environmental protection services within the Department, in accordance with the guidelines of this Circular.

2. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, localities are requested to report them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Home Affairs for study and resolution./.